Toys We Love

I thought maybe I should have titled it 'Toys They Love' but really I love them too.  I love them for the kind of toys they are, the imagination they bring out, the years and years of use they are too. 

Castle from Playmobil...  Really you can't go wrong with anything Playmobil I've found.  Over the years we've now collected the zoo, castle, and school.  They are toys that never get put into "feels like new" because they are played with every day. 

~ "Feels Like New" is the name of our walk in closet in the playroom.  When Anna was just 2 I started putting toys in there so that the playroom wasn't overwhelming for her.  I would have out just enough (and that was still a lot).  Then every once in a while (every week or so) I would switch out the toys.  When they came out of the closet Anna used to say to me.  "Mommy, it feels like new."  And her toys did feel like new to her.  I've been doing that 'feels like new' system for over 6 years now.  Both girls love to see 'old favorite' toys again that they haven't seen in  a while.  ~





And then there's the Sandboxes. The girls love these. They are a 'kitchen only' toys for sure but hours of fun! We love the doggie sandbox, mermaid sandbox (with blue sand like water) and castle sandbox.



Leggos. You can never go wrong with leggos. We still have the "baby" ones. They're fine for us since the girls really just like to make villages/homes/castles/ areas for their ponies/dolls/playmobil people to play in.



Bubber! It's kind of like playdough but better. It's not sticky and NEVER gets dried out! It has a silky soft texture. So much fun!







Just so I can remember... the girls love their playroom. Filled with their toys, dolls, crib, stroller, highchair, tons of books all over in baskets. (forever the first grade teacher)



I adore this sea of pink among the light blue walls. I just love having girls! Tea parties, baby dolls and such, there is nothing more grand!










Magna tiles... the toys that's stood the test of time!



May they always be little enough for playtime. Oh how I wish the clock would stop...

Honored

This happened way back in December just a few days before Christmas.  I did one little post about it back here but never finished.  I was waiting hoping that I'd get permission to show video and pictures, but that's impossible since it's a school. 
I suppose I also dragged my feet on this post because without showing any of the video I just felt like I couldn't do this day justice.  But I'll have to try. 

The day before this assembly Scott along with the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Parents, and teachers was named Connecticut State First Year Principal of the Year.  It was exciting for the town, the school, teachers, parents, students, and his girls.



The next day a surprise would happen at his school and he had no clue.  Anna, Abigail and I were brought into their gym/auditorium and were seated front and center.  I was a bit nervous about Abigail sitting still when all eyes (all teachers, all students) eyes were on us, but they did great!  We waited quietly with the entire school for "Mr. Baker" to be called in.  Boy howdy it was a surprise for sure!  I loved (and didn't get on camera) the look on his face.  The whole school stood and applauded him, and his girls ran up to him.  It was hard to get a shot through all of the emotion. 



The girls clung to him. I loved watching their pride. That was their daddy that the school was honoring!

Each grade level got up an performed a song/skit/poem honoring their principal. I adored the Kindergartners who sang changing the world to 'Old McDonald'. The sixth graders touched my heart as they wrote a song and performed both the music and the singing of it.

After each grade level performed the teachers and staff of the school lined up. Each one wore an apron that said, 'bakers dozen' and held a cup of colored sand in their hands. As they walked up on stage they poured their sand into a huge glass jar and told their 'ingredient' to the recipe. "one cup kindness". It was moving as each staff member from the teachers to the secretary to the custodian added to the jar.



I love the prideful look on the teachers faces in this one.



They put together a side show of pictures for him with the background music the sixth graders sang.



Scott tried to come up with something to say at the end but he really was speechless.



Hugs for their daddy!



It was a morning none of us will forget. They are one lucky town, one lucky school, we are three lucky girls!

Just an ordinary Tuesday

I love Tuesday because Abigail is not in preschool. I'm not good at sharing her (or either of my girls)! Today we baked banana bread using a new recipe. (from Deceptively Delicious) This one has hidden cauliflower in it... shhh!

We headed to the playground for some fun. Boy, when you live in cold Connecticut you have the whole place to yourself in February!



I froze; she didn't mind the cold.









And I snuck in some reading. Abigail cuddled in my bed with me and she 'read' her books and I got a few minutes to read mine. I always have to have a fiction, a home book, a photography book, and a child book. (And that's after my devotional in the morning) Even if I just have 15 minutes a day I have to be in all of these categories each day... silly I know!

Abigail's Eyes

A quick story before the pictures... Abigail, Scott and Anna went for a walk in the light snow.  It gave me a chance to clean up and get ready for some company that was headed over for dinner that night.  After the girls and Scott came back I noticed Abigail's eyes starting to swell up.  Not a little bit either...

When I looked more closely it looked as though she had 10 mosquito bites around her right eye.  But they were just out in the snow?  And then quickly we figured it out.  On their walk they came across some of those pods that had fallen from a tree.  You know the kind... if you shake them they sound like a musical instrument.  She decided to take one home to show her Kindermusik teacher, Mrs. Rothchild. 



I knew from some blood testing and patch testing that was done by two different allergists that she was allergic to several kinds of trees and grasses.  After Scott found out that that the tree with the pods was a locust I went upstairs to find through her medical paper work that that was one of the trees high on the list. 

Yikes, that poor girl can never catch an allergy break!  Even in the dead of winter with a fresh coating of snow on everything she had a reaction. 





All is well now, in a few hours her eyes were pretty much back to normal; thank goodness! 

(PS~ I took these pictures to show the allergist... it's so hard to remember exactly what it looked like at each appointment)

Sunday Snapshot ~ No More Bear

So it all started with "bear bear"... given by a former second grade student, Ian when Abigail was born. I think it was the first thing she grabbed with her hands and she really never let go. When she was little Abigail often tucked 'bear bear' into her mouth; I suppose like a pacifier. When it was time to take away bear (at least out of her mouth) she was diagnosed. We faced many hospital visits for her EE and the fact that she was in constant pain whenever she ate. She went to weekly food/eating therapy learning 'how' to eat food when she was two and refused food because of the pain. Somehow in all of at (that lasted over 3 years) I didn't have the heart to take away 'bear bear'. I just went online and bought more so that they could be washed on the sanitize cycle of my washer.

So this past week at a dentist appointment Abigail's bite didn't look quite right to the dentist. And that was the end of bear in her mouth. When we got in the car her big sister Anna let her know in words that made it sink in, "do you understand Abigail? You can NEVER EVER put him in your mouth again!?" She was honestly trying to explain it all to her little sister, but it came out all wrong to her. I have never heard her cry so loud.

So Scott and I thought we'd have some sleepless nights in front of us as Abigail made this transition. Anna tried to think of incentives. "Maybe she could have a party to celebrate..." "Maybe a balloon could work?" "Abigail, just think you can sleep with all of your bears in your bed..." We never thought it could work.

And she did it! So proud of her we were... our first stop of the day that next morning after bringing Anna to school was the party store. She was delighted with her balloon....

One more big girl step for her.

Favorite Photo Friday ~ Chinese New Year

2012 The Year of the Dragon



For more great photos...

Chinese New Year ~ part 2

Just a few more picture of Chinese New Year.  I started to post about it back here....

Each year Anna (and Abigail) are given one small gift that was bought in her homeland.  Scott and I did buy a lot of things in China with this occasion in mind back in 2004 but he was able to sort of "restock" our Chinese New Year gifts when he went back to China for the CT Education trip last spring. 

These we knew the girls would love.  You know those wooden dolls that you take apart, and in each layer is another doll...





And Anna was also given a jade bracelet which I don't have a picture of... I'll take one when she wears it next for sure! 

We had my parents over for Chinese food on the weekend of Chinese New Year (now a month ago)It's always fun and extra special to eat dinner in the dining room with company over.



Abigail insisting on using chopsticks (with her abigail food since she can't have Chinese with her soy allergy)